Michael Berg of Family of Woodstock takes a call in the agency's John Street office in Uptown Kingston. (Freeman photo by Tania Barricklo)

After ensuring the inalienable rights of food, clothing and shelter, Family of Woodstock opens wide its arms to embrace and assist in all manner of human woe under the sun.

That, in fact, is the organization's motto, "Any problem under the sun," that appears on posters and informational material, as Family marks the 40th anniversary of its founding with a cluster of celebratory events.

Family is a rather simple name for a complex and diverse network of interconnected services with a single goal: Helping people fix their lives - themselves. Adolescent, child care, community, domestic violence, hotline/walk-in centers and homeless services, each with specialized subdivisions, are the agency's main thrust, according to Michael Berg, Family's executive director.

He said, in an interview this week, that the agency's inception points to a more innocent time, when hordes of young people descended on the area in search of the mythical Woodstock Nation of song and legend.

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At the time, 1970, Berg said, Woodstock was home to Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, and had only two police officers. "Kids were sleeping on lawns, getting arrested, sent to jail. They had drug problems or got busted for dealing," he recalled.

Berg said there was a segment of the Woodstock community that believed those issues were not of Woodstock's making and, therefore, not Woodstock's problem.

Then, there were others, like founding member Gail Varsi, who told police, "If there's a problem - call me - 679-2485." That was then, and now - "It's still the number for Family of Woodstock's walk-in center in Woodstock," Berg said with a big smile (the area code is now 845). Berg said that, back then, if Varsi needed to leave her house, she'd just find a friend to answer the phone.

Family was built first by volunteers, including Berg, who in 1970 began work with eight others in a special committee, called, "Soft Landing Machine;" its members were specifically trained to talk people down from a drug high. "We went, in pairs, to people's houses, to spend time with them, to make sure they were OK," Berg said.

Volunteerism led to employment for Berg who has been executive director since 1981. Even though Family has a paid staff of about 160 employees, there are almost as many volunteers.

"The incredible, remarkable people, both employees and volunteers, are the force behind Family," Berg said with a measure of pride. "They come from diverse backgrounds, experience and interests, but they have shared values."

It is the shared values that have jettisoned Family from a small handful of volunteers to a multi-faceted human services referrer and provider that extends its sheltering umbrella of services to help people figure out their lives.

Berg said that, although Family seems to branch in several directions at once, its path is still straight and sure from its founding: to provide people in need the easiest ways possible to get the assistance that will help them solve their own problems.

Berg highlighted the philosophies developed by the early founders that endure and guide 40 years later.

"We don't tell people what to do or how to fix their problem," Berg said. Instead, Family staffers seek to clarify the need and get the person to the right resource to help them move forward.

"We don't judge people on what they've done or failed to do," Berg said. Volunteers and staff are trained to help troubled persons feel welcome and comfortable in the Family environment. "If we communicate, even by body language, that we disapprove, we'll never see that person again," he said.

"There's no limit to how many times someone comes to us or how many services they need," Berg said. "Our job is helping people help themselves." He explained that someone may come in the door needing food, and the following week, or weeks later, tell staff they have a substance abuse problem. "The door is always open," he said.

Berg stressed that all services are strictly confidential and most of them are free. He noted, for example, Family does not have caller ID service on its phone system, that persons accessing services do not need to produce a Social Security card or any form of identification. "We don't even ask for a name. We tell clients to give themselves a name that's comfortable for them to use with us."

The emphasis, he stressed, is what do they need and how can Family help. An equally important emphasis is placed on maintaining a safe and comfortable environment where clients will feel sufficiently empowered to ask for help.

"We've created a sensitive and people-friendly place," he said. Family's services are spread by word of mouth, Berg said. "A friend told me to call you is how they get to us," he said.

Even so, people carrying a burden will not just walk in and confide their troubles, Berg said. So, Family found yet another way to make it comfortable to get assistance.

He said the organization created a Free Store, a place where people who don't need their "stuff" donate it and people who do need it, can find "stuff." He said the Free Store is a way for people to recycle no longer needed household items, so that others, who can't afford to buy them, can get them free.

Berg said he once fielded a call from a donor who complained about the need of someone who had taken some free "stuff." "The Free Store is about sharing and building community, a safe place to get help. These are our neighbors," he told the donor.

Berg said Family has a strong, working relationship with the leadership of federal, state, county and local entities. "They understand that we're dealing with what's real," he said. "They also understand that, in many ways, we are the most cost-effective safety net for thousands of people in need over the years."

And, looking at the trajectory for the next few years, Berg does not see the needs diminishing.

"We keep people alive, fed, sheltered, clothed, off drugs, back in school, out of jail," he said.

Among the services Family of Woodstock provides are the following: suicide prevention; child care services; HIV/AIDS services; domestic violence services for the abused, their children and their batterers; a county-wide hotline and walk-in centers in Ellenville, New Paltz and Woodstock, including a teen hotline; services and shelters for homeless adults, families and teens; food pantries; transitional living programs, as well as advocacy and assistance in family court and with domestic violence cases in criminal court.

Adult case management, in addition to advocacy and preventing homelessness, offers employment assistance and housing, as well as support to address chronic issues and help families and individuals become self-sufficient.

The agency provides counseling, information, referral and advocacy for a host of problems under that sun, including rape, drugs, alcohol, pregnancy, runaways, child abuse and mental health issues, among many others. The suicide hot line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We give them whatever they need to get to start reshaping their lives," Berg said.

Asked what value communities place on Family's work, Berg thought for a moment, then said, "The value by which a civilization is judged is determined by how well they care for those most in need."

Family of Woodstock will share its 40th anniversary celebration with all the volunteers, supporters, past employees, past clients and friends in the community for a party and retrospective of its history on Saturday, Aug. 14, at Backstage Production Studios, 323 Wall St., Kingston, from 7 to 11 p.m.

There will be music by the Voodelics, food, silent auction, proclamations from politicians and community workers, a silent auction and other fun. Suggested donation is $20.

As in past years, Family is sponsoring its Big $$$ Raffle, the organization's major fundraiser of the year, with a grand prize of $20,000. This year, to celebrate its 40th, Family is adding three additional $2,000 prizes.

And everybody who purchases a ticket will receive free admission to a John Fogerty concert to be held at Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) in Saugerties on Sept. 12, at 3 p.m.

A maximum of 3,000 tickets are to be sold and each raffle stub allows free admission to the $1 million grand prix that will showcase the world's top riders and jumper/ hunter horses. The grand prix will start at 1:30 p.m., to be followed by the raffle drawing, followed by the Fogerty concert.

For more information on raffle tickets or the Aug. 14 celebration, call Family of Woodstock at (845) 331 7080.

Also, Family of Woodstock will hold its fourth annual bicycle event, Tour de Woodstock, on Sunday, Aug. 22, from 9 a.m. to noon with two tours -the 50-mile tour to challenge experienced riders and the 25-mile-tour, an intermediate course for the recreational cyclist. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Helmets are required. Registration fee is $20.

HITS, Inc. and Fletcher Gallery have selected 59 artists for the 2010 HITS-on-the-Hudson Equestrian Art Exhibition and Auction that will benefit Family of Woodstock. The exhibit will be held at Fletcher Gallery, 40 Mill Hill Rd., Woodstock, which hosted an opening reception on Aug. 7. The art, paintings, photographs and sculptures have an equine theme.

The auction will be held Friday, Sept. 10, 6-9 p.m. at HITS-on-the-Hudson Show Grounds in Saugerties.